A Libyan girl places flowers at the gate of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 17. / Mohammad Hannon, AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

Several security threats occur against U.S. installations in Libya, according to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. They include an explosive device thrown over the fence of the U.S. consulate, an explosive device blowing a hole in a consulate security perimeter big enough for a large force to enter, armed men carjacking a vehicle with diplomatic plates used by U.S. officials, and the British embassy set on fire.

July:

An American real estate developer releases on YouTube a 13-minute trailer for The Real Life of Muhammed, an anti-Islam video.

Sept. 8:

Jamal Mabrouk, a member of the February 17th Brigade that provides security at the U.S. consulate, and a battalion commander meet with U.S. diplomats in Benghazi to say the security situation there is "frightening," he recounts to CNN in an interview after the attack.

Sept. 10:

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri appears on an Internet video calling for Libyans to avenge the death of Abu Yahya al-Libi, his Libyan deputy, killed in a drone strike in June.

Sept 11:

Egyptians attack the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, raising the flag of al-Qaeda in place of the U.S. flag. The embassy releases a statement condemning "the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims," in reference to the U.S. video.

News reports say the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, has been attacked.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney releases a statement embargoed for midnight condemning the attacks and criticizing the Obama administration for blaming the American filmmaker instead of the attackers.

The White House repudiates the original U.S. Embassy statement, saying it was released without proper approval. The Obama campaign attacks Romney for issuing his statement before an investigation is complete.

Sept 12:

Libyan Ambassador Chris Stevens is reported dead with three other Americans in the Benghazi attack.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemns "this senseless act of violence," saying some have sought to justify the attack and protests "as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet."

President Obama says in a Rose Garden statement that an investigation is underway. He condemns the attackers and in an allusion to the video he says the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, but all must oppose such senseless violence against public servants.

U.S. intelligence agencies conclude internally that the incident was a planned terror attack likely by al-Qaeda affiliates on the embassy in order to release resources to respond, according to reports from several news media outlets.

Obama is interviewed on 60 Minutes and defends his Mideast policies as aligning the USA with democracy, saying, "There are going to be bumps in the road."

Republican members of Congress say they are have been told by intelligence officials that the Benghazi attack was a well-planned assault timed to the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, not an anti-video protest gone awry.

Sept. 13:

Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the State Department, which oversees embassies, says State had evaluated the "threat stream" in Libya prior to the attack, "and we determined that the security at Benghazi was appropriate for what we knew."

Clinton issues a statement saying, "There is no justification, none at all, for responding to this video with violence."

White House spokesman Jay Carney insists: "The protests we're seeing around the region are in reaction to this movie."

Sept. 14:

The bodies of Stevens and three Americans arrive at Andrews Air Force base. Obama says at the base that the United States will "stand fast" against the violence, Both he and Clinton criticize the video for prompting the attacks. "We've seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with," Clinton said.

Carney denies the White House was aware of "any actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi was planned or imminent." "The story is absolutely wrong," he says. "That report is false."

Sept. 16:

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice appears on five Sunday talks shows and says the attacks were spontaneous eruptions over the anti-Islam video, saying, "This was not a pre-planned, premeditated attack."

President of Libya's general National Congress Mohammed Magarief contradicts the Obama administration, saying there is "no doubt that this (attack) was pre-planned, predetermined."

Sept. 17:

Nuland is asked whether the attack was a terror attack. "I'm not going to put labels on this until we have a complete investigation. I don't think we know enough," she says.

Sept. 18:

Obama appears on The Late Show with David Letterman and is asked by the host if the attack was an act of war. "Here's what happened. You had a video that was released by somebody who lives here â?¦ a shadowy character who has an extremely offensive video directed at Mohammed and Islam ... so this caused great offense in much of the Muslim world."

Sept. 19:

The first U.S. administration official to testify on the matter, Director of National Intelligence Matthew Olsen, says the Americans in Benghazi were killed "in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy."

A diary belonging to Stevens found in the burned-out Benghazi consulate by a reporter for CNN indicates Stevens was concerned about security threats.

Sept. 20:

Carney, when asked about Olsen's testimony, says it is "self-evident" that it was a terrorist attack.

In an interview at Univision Town Hall, Obama is asked whether the attack was the work of terrorists. He says his administration is still investigating the attack and cannot say for certain. "What we do know is that the natural protests that arose because of the outrage over the video were used as an excuse by extremists to see if they can also directly harm U.S. interests," Obama says.

Sept. 21:

Clinton says at a meeting with Pakistan's foreign minister that, "What happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack."

Sept. 25:

ABC airs the television show The View, in which Obama is asked about Clinton's statement. "We don't have all of the information yet so we are still gathering," he says. He says there is "no doubt" that "it wasn't just a mob action."

"What we do know is that the natural protests that arose because of the outrage over the video were used as an excuse by extremists to see if they can also directly harm U.S. interests," he says.

In a speech to the United Nations, Obama condemns the attacks and the American filmmaker, saying, "A crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world."

Clinton issues a statement acknowledging that an al-Qaeda affiliate in Libya and other Islamist terror groups "are seeking to extend their reach and their networks in multiple directions."

Sept. 26:

Libya's Magarief tells NBC's Today show that the attack was a pre-planned act of terrorism "directed against American citizens."

Nuland declines to address reports that embassy officials in Libya were seeking additional security in Benghazi and denied. "I think it's fair to say that we are still working through what we have in this building in terms of documentation, in terms of information about what we knew, who knew it, when they knew it, and that's part of the process that we have to go through," she says.

Oct. 2:

Carney declines to discuss reports of requests from diplomats in Libya for more security due to the State Department's internal investigation, he says.

Oct. 10:

Senior State Department officials admit in a background briefing with reporters that prior to the attack in Benghazi there was no protest outside the compound. The briefing contradicts initial White House statements that the attack came during a demonstration against the anti-Islam video that got out of control outside the consulate.